


blow your dreams (away with me)

by anothermikaelson



Series: of wristrockets and skateboards [8]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Birthdays, Erica is a queen, F/M, Fluff, Lumax, cake fights, fluffy fluff, frosting dabs on the nose bc those are adorable, how do i tag oml, i need more of robin oml, lumax dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27870550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anothermikaelson/pseuds/anothermikaelson
Summary: lucas and the party plan max a birthday party. cue streamers and cake fights. post season 3 but before the byers leave.--aka FLUFF OF COURSEaka frosting dabs on noses bc those are adorablerated teen for language
Relationships: Background Mileven - Relationship, Maxine "Max" Mayfield & Lucas Sinclair, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair
Series: of wristrockets and skateboards [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2011171
Kudos: 11





	blow your dreams (away with me)

**Author's Note:**

> title from selena gomez's "birthday" 
> 
> CUE THE FLUFF

The door slams open, and within seconds Lucas is running down the stairs to the Wheelers' basement. "CODE RED!" 

Dustin looks up. "Son of a bitch, Lucas, you could've just said it over the radio." 

"I forgot. And I figured this should be an in person thing." 

"What happened?" El asks. 

Lucas collapses onto the couch. "I found out that Max hasn't had a birthday party since before her parents divorced. Or even celebrated it, since Neil doesn't give a shit. So she hasn't actually celebrated her birthday in seven years." 

El scrunches her eyebrows together. "What is...birthday party?" 

Mike's eyes widen. "Oh...it's a party for your birthday. You know, the day you're born. When you get one year older, sometimes people throw a party and we all celebrate and give presents and eat cake." 

"Do I have a birthday?" El asks. 

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Mike averts his eyes. "Yes, but we don't know when. I think Hopper said something about it being in a few months, but I don't remember. I can ask Joyce, maybe she'll know." 

Will nods. "I think it's in November, El." 

El smiles, satisfied with her answer. "So Max doesn't know her birthday?" 

Lucas shakes his head. "She does, it's in two days, actually. I just don't know if we should throw a surprise party or not. That's why I came down, to ask." 

"Why don't you know? She's your girlfriend, Lucas," Dustin says. 

"Well, she doesn't like those kind of things, you know. And besides, with Billy and everything, she's kind of distraught, and I don't know if throwing a party will break her or..." Lucas fiddles with his bandana. 

Will stands up. "Well, I think we should throw one. Neil's gone, so I think it'll be okay." 

"Same," Dustin says. 

"I don't care, honestly," Mike says, earning a poke from El. 

"I say yes," she says in response, giving Mike a side-eye. 

"Fine, okay." Mike gives in. 

Lucas groans. "Okay, jeez, whatever. We can plan it now, and then we can go buy things tomorrow and set it up somewhere on Saturday, then I'll keep her busy and then we'll do the whole surprise thing." Will goes to get paper and pens, while everyone gathers around the table to begin planning. 

* * *

The next day, while the rest of the party is out shopping, Lucas goes to pick up Max to go to the movies. He knocks on her door--something he's still getting used to, and she opens it, somewhat smiling, even though it doesn't really reach her eyes. "Hey, Stalker." 

"Hey, you ready to go?" 

"Yeah, but can I ride with you? My mom took my bike for some fixing up." Max runs her fingers through her hair. 

Lucas blinks. "Yeah, of course, MadMax." He pats the seat behind him, and Max gets on, putting her hands around his torso and resting her head on his back. Lucas adjusts himself, before pedaling off to the theaters. 

**

Max silently smiles while pressing her cheek to Lucas's back. She hasn't been out in ages, and just going on a date is refreshing for her in more ways than one. She sighs quietly, enjoying the warmth--well, the heat, if she has to speak like an Indianan--against her bare skin. 

"You good back there?" Lucas asks. "I heard you sigh. Do you want to go somewhere else?" 

Blinking, Max tucks her hair behind her ear. "No, I just kind of missed this." 

"Missed what?" 

Max sighs again. "The sun. Bike rides like this, going outside. You." She can't believe she's saying that last part. 

"Aw, I missed you too, MadMax." They pull up at the theater, and head inside to watch  _ Teen Wolf _ . 

**

They exit the theater, hand in hand. Max finds herself a lot more touchy than usual, even holding hands out in public. Not that she or Lucas care, it's just kind of a rare thing. They barely hold hands as it is. Hell, they hold hands less than when Max's parents were together. The thought of her dad brings a tingle to her eyes, and Max blinks them away. 

"So, your birthday is tomorrow." Lucas tries to keep it casual as they walk to their bikes. 

Max's eyes widen. "Oh, yeah." She's neglected her birthday for so long, she can barely remember when it even is. 

"Yeah, anything you wanna do?" 

"I don't really care," Max shrugs, as she throws her hair over her shoulder. Lucas leans on his bike. "I mean, I haven't really done anything on my birthday in ages, so..." 

Lucas seems almost soft when she says it. "Well, what did you do back in California?" 

Max bites her lip, trying to remember what she used to do on her birthday back in California. "Back in California, my dad would make blueberry pancakes for me on my birthday. Then he'd take me to Disneyland and we'd spend the weekend there." 

"Oh. Well, uh, that last part's going to be hard to beat. So what do you want to do tomorrow?" Lucas tries to ignore the looks from the older people walking in to the theater, and keeps his grip on Max's hand firm. 

Max shrugs again. "I don't care, Stalker. I haven't done this in years, okay? Can we just...spend the day together tomorrow?" 

Lucas smiles. "Alright, MadMax. So where do you wanna go now?" 

"Can we go to your house?" Max asks, her eyes lighting up for the first time all day. "I haven't seen your family in a while, and I kind of miss them. I know that's weird, but-" 

"Okay. Hop on." Lucas gets on his bike, and Max gets on behind him, in the same position she's always in when she rides with him. "My mom baked cookies yesterday." 

"Okay, then, hurry up and bike!" Max finds herself smiling for the first time in a long time. 

* * *

It's eight in the morning when Max hears Lucas talking to the party over the radio. She decides against going back to sleep, and eavesdrops instead, pretending to be asleep. Pulling the blanket closer to her, Max rolls over to hear them better. 

"...got everything yet?" Lucas asks, quietly. 

"Almost. Nancy and Mrs. Wheeler are helping Mom with the cake." Will's voice is slightly distorted through the static. 

"Okay, well, hurry! She's waking up any time now and I'm not explaining anything to her this early." Max raises an eyebrow, and decides to be "waking up", and makes a half-groaning noise. "Shit, she's awake. Bye!" Lucas hangs up. 

Max rolls her eyes, and asks herself for the two hundredth time in eight months just _why_ she wanted to date him in the first place. She continues with her act, and blinks her eyes open slowly. "Ugh." 

Lucas leans over to her. "Happy birthday, MadMax." 

_Oh, yeah._ "Mm, thanks, whatever." 

"Come on, wake up." 

"Five more minutes." 

Lucas groans. "No! Every time you ask for five more minutes, it turns into fifteen!" 

Max mimics his groan. "I'm tired, though." 

"Mom made blueberry pancakes." At that, Max sits up, her hair looking like a bird's nest. "I'll meet you downstairs." 

"Wait wait wait!" Max jumps out of bed. "I'm using the bathroom first." 

Lucas grimaces. "What? No! I woke up first." 

"It's my birthday, Stalker," Max whines. 

"You can't pull that card!" Lucas throws his hands up. 

"Why not?" Max's lips pull into a smirk. 

Lucas stammers. "Because, you...it's not fair! I mean-" Max takes this time to grab her spare clothes and dart past him to get to the bathroom. Exasperated, Lucas follows her. "Hey!" Max closes the door in his face, and Lucas shouts through the door, "That's cheating!" 

"I still won, though," Max calls back before stepping into the shower. Running her fingers through her hair, she quickly shampoos it and steps out, changing into a white t-shirt with a white "1985" printed on a red and yellow stripe, and pulls on a pair of jean shorts on, securing a belt around her waist. Drying her hair as much as she can with a towel, she quickly brushes her teeth and exits the bathroom, her cheeks glowing pink. "Don't take too long," she calls to Lucas. 

"You took fifteen minutes!" Lucas protests. 

"Tick, tock." Erica's laughter is able to be heard down the hall. Lucas sighs and heads into the bathroom, while Max switches out her old clothes and heads down. 

Mrs. Sinclair smiles widely at Max when she sees her. "Morning, Max! Happy birthday!" 

Max smiles back, and feels a warm sensation inside her. She hasn't heard that phrase spoken specifically to her more than once in years. "Thanks, Mrs. Sinclair. Morning." She sits down in her usual spot, and is handed a plate of blueberry pancakes. "Lucas said something about this, didn't he?" 

"Did he? I wouldn't know," Mrs. Sinclair says, smiling mischievously. "Orange juice or milk?" 

"Orange juice. Thanks." She gets her glass from Mrs. Sinclair, and takes a sip. Lucas comes down not long later, with Erica trailing behind him. "Hey, Erica." 

Erica waves, and begins gorging on her pancakes. "Oh, yeah, happy birthday, Max." 

"Thanks." Lucas sits down next to Max, and begins eating as well. "So, what are we doing today?" Max asks, sprinkling powdered sugar on her pancakes. 

Lucas chokes on his pancake. "Uh, whatever you want." 

"Okay." They finish breakfast, and head out. 

* * *

The sun has just begun to set when Max and Lucas head back down the hill, hand in hand. "Oh, remember that time we were at the river and you tried to catch a fish?" 

Lucas groans. "Don't remind me." 

"That fish totally whipped you in the face with its tail. Don't even deny it, your cheek was swollen for two days, remember?" Max laughs. 

"It didn't whip me in the face with its tail! My cheek was swollen from a bee sting!" 

"Sure it was." 

"And remember how you tried to kiss it better?" Lucas asks, making Max flush red. 

"Okay, moving on." 

"And how about the time you tried to straighten your hair?" 

Max glares at her boyfriend. "Okay, jeez, let's talk about something else." 

"You singed the ends of your hair, remember? Then you had to either cut it shorter or dye it black to disguise it so you dyed it?" 

"Oh god." 

"Then you finally decided a week later that you should've just cut it because everyone thought you were becoming a goth? So you got it out and cut it but it was uneven?" 

Max flicks his arm, and Lucas flinches. "So, the sun is setting, and I'm hungry. Where are we going now?" 

She thinks she sees Lucas smile, but it's gone in an instant and replaced with his resting face. "Well, Joyce wants to see you today, actually." 

"What?" 

"Will's mom. She wants to see you to say happy birthday, too. She actually got you a present." 

Max's mouth forms a small _o_. "Really? How'd she know?" 

"I don't know, actually." Max rolls her eyes, knowing he must've told them. "Anyway, we should head over." 

"Okay," Max says, smiling and bounding down the hill, dragging Lucas with her. When she turns back around to face him at the bottom of the hill, she notices how he's smiling. "What?" 

"Nothing, it's just...I missed seeing you smile, MadMax." 

"I missed you, Stalker." There's a little pause. "Now let's go, because I want food." 

Lucas laughs, and gets on his bike. "Alright, get on." Max gladly obliges. 

**

Max and Lucas pull up at the Byers', and the lights are off. "Uhh...Stalker? There's no one home." 

Lucas bites his lip. "We can knock. Maybe it's an outage?" 

"The lights are on over there, idiot." Max points to the house a little further down the street. 

"Oh, well, we can still knock." 

Rolling her eyes for the tenth time that day, Max shrugs. "Whatever." 

Lucas leads her to the door, and raps on the wood three times, but the door is already open. "That's weird." He opens it further, with Max finding herself taking his arm for protection, something she rarely does. 

The door swings open fully, to reveal the party and Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, Joyce, the Sinclairs, and Max's mom, who jump up to yell, "Surprise!" Max gapes at the now fully lighted house, with everyone smiling, including Mike, who looks like he's been forced to, and food lining the dining table. 

"Holy shit." It's all she's able to get out. "Did...did you plan this?" Max asks Lucas, still holding his arm. 

Lucas smiles. "Yeah." 

"Have I told you lately that I love you, Stalker?" 

"OOOOOOOOOOOH!" Dustin and Mike chorus, prompting Dustin an elbow jab from Steve, and El to poke Mike in the arm. 

The door opens again, revealing Robin. "Sorry I'm late! My mom wouldn't let me out of the house until I told her I was babysitting," Robin says, cheeks flushing red a wrapped gift in hand. 

"Don't worry, it's not embarrassing, Robin. I mean, I practically babysit all these shitheads anyway," Steve reassures her. 

"Okay, kids, let's eat." Joyce claps her hands, to get rid of the awkward standing around. Max jumps up and heads to get food, placing a slice of veggie pizza and fruit on a plate. She claims the floor space next to the coffee table in front of the TV, and the rest of the party join her, with Steve and Robin talking in a corner, with Jonathan and Nancy talking in another. 

Susan pulls Max aside quickly. "Happy birthday, Maxine." 

"Don't call me Maxine." 

"I just want you to know that I'm sorry about Neil." 

Max glares at her mom. "Yeah, that's the least you could say. Literally. Why are you even here?" 

"I was invited." 

Max blinks. "I'm going to KILL that son of a-" 

"No, it wasn't Lucas. I actually didn't know about it until an hour ago. Joyce came to talk to me. Then she invited me. Do you seriously think I'd miss my own daughter's birthday?" 

"Well, you missed the last seven, so..." 

Susan puts a hand on Max's arm, but she shrugs it off. "Just...don't. It's going to take a lot more than sorry to fix this." Max holds her hand up before her mom can put in a word. "I have friends to get back to. And a boyfriend, who planned this party and didn't even invite you in the first place, so I don't know why the hell you're here. And honestly, they're more family to me in the past ten months than you've been in seven years, so just don't." She spins on her heel and walks off, planting a kiss on Lucas's cheek to prove her point.

"Happy birthday, Maxi!!" El says, hugging Max tightly. 

"Thanks, El." Max smiles, spearing a grape with her fork. 

"So, what'd you two do today?" Dustin asks, prompting a glare from Steve across the room. 

Lucas shrugs. "We went to the hill. Had a picnic." 

"Ooo-" El pokes Mike again, and he shuts up. 

"Nothing much, really." Max finishes her food, and notices how everyone else is already done. "Wow, did your mom cook all of that, Will?" 

"Jonathan and Nancy cooked most of it. We ordered the pizza from Rocky's." Will smiles. "Hey, Max, you should open presents now." 

"Okay." 

Joyce overhears. "Wait, no! Cake first!" 

Max gapes. "You guys made a _cake_?" 

El nods. "It was fun, and it's chocolate!"

"Wow. Guys, I don't know what to say." 

"A thank you would be nice," Mike says. Max shoots him a glare. 

"Thank you, everyone except Mike." 

Mike rolls his eyes. Then Joyce brings out a very lopsided but somewhat decent cake, with fourteen candles. She starts singing, and everyone joins in, with Max not knowing what the hell she should be doing. When they finally stop singing, she blows out all fourteen in one blow. 

"You know, in two years we could act out the _Sixteen Candles_ ending," Lucas comments. 

"Why the hell did you watch _Sixteen Candles_?" Dustin asks. 

Max tries to make Lucas not saying anything by sending him an eye signal, but he pretends not to notice. "Max has the movie at her house, and made me watch it SIX TIMES." 

"Shut up." Max tries the cake. "Wow, this cake is good." 

"Really?" Will asks. 

"Yeah, it's good enough to give me diabetes. How much sugar did you guys add?" 

Everyone turns to El. "Hm?" She asks, dabbing frosting on Mike's nose. 

"Hey!" Mike says, throwing cake at El. Some of it flies in Max's direction, and she picks some of hers up, throwing it back at him. "Max!" 

"You started it." 

Two minutes later, they're all finding themselves in an all-out cake fight. In the midst of all of it, Lucas pulls Max aside. "So how was your birthday?" He asks, wiping some cake off her cheek. 

"The best. Thank you, Stalker." She puts her arms around Lucas's neck, and gets on her tiptoes. "I love you so much." She kisses him softly, and he kisses her back quickly. 

"I love you too. I'd totally kiss you again, but you have cake all over your face and I don't want diabetes." Max rolls her eyes. 

"Hey, lovebirds! Break it the hell up!" Steve calls. 

"Okay, _Mom_!" Max calls back. She looks back at Lucas. "We should head back." She gives him one last peck on the lips before heading back to open her presents. 

**Author's Note:**

> ahh okay i'm sorry about the way i wrote the convo between max and her mom but i felt like something about this should've been acknowledged, and I SWEAR i'll redeem them (read my christmas fic lol)!! 
> 
> but i'm definitely writing a full-length oneshot about their hill date that i ~intentionally~ skipped, so stay tuned!!
> 
> xoxo


End file.
